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Kali Elafir
"I'll feed your entrails to your father over a glass of your blood, at the end of the meal he'll even thank me for it; or.. you can give me my book back-" '' - '''Kali Elafir' The Cerulean Duchess "This world is rife with spectacles unimaginable, each their own fascinations and secrets; my kin see fit to faun over themselves and their own 'arts', true perfection is for those who seek it in all things" Duchess Kali Elafir is a psionic chronicler of history who is independent from Thadrakos authorities, the Curators, and even her Majesties Royal Academia of the Eternal Empire. She wishes not just to chronicle the story of her own peoples' history, but of the entire galaxy and one day, she hopes, the universe. It has been her family tradition throughout their history to record the passing of events; however, her ancestors were more inclined to recording the passage of battles... by also taking part in them. Ultimately she has come to become the most senior child of the family as her elder siblings killed themselves off in the early space ages. Shedding the more primal and violent aspects of the family tradition she now follows pursuits greater than any before her; she aims to create great works of writing and art through the through exploration of the universe and cataloging of events, old habits die hard though and she still practices the craft of combat. "There is always a time where a sword and gun comes of use, how often that is, is up to you-" While her family owns a large estate among the particularly frugal and economically powerful Thadrakos Families and she herself being immaculately rich, she spends most of her time outside Thadrakos space and prefers to find residency in the borders of the Commonwealth, whose technology is far superior and gives her own work a greater air of legitimacy. "If I wrote my works in the confines of my home they'd be categorized here as the works of a cave man with a soft spot for history, if I write them here they'll be recognized as the work of an actual genius for which they most truly are-" While she is the oldest of her siblings now, she was once the 3rd youngest of 8 who, as mentioned above, died partaking in battles or dangerous sport. Without any true experience being passed down to her she has taken up the title of 'Duchess' which passed on after her mothers death to her (being the oldest sibling). In her time, as Duchess of the estate she has seen it be relocated, renovated, expanded and remade to incorporate her collections of artifacts and prized fauna & flora; her artwork, inspired by the spectacles observed across the galaxy, is regarded as some of the greatest pieces made; the wealth amassed by the estates unique crops, balls, exhibitions and banquets has also boomed as the estate gained a reputation as one of the great wonders of the Thadrakos worlds. It helps that she also employs several Thadrakos mecenas to acquire many of the pieces she hears rumor of, who are always willing to accept an offer from their most esteemed and wealthy clients. Cerulean Duchess? "Purple was getting obnoxious anyway-" '' Purple is the color of regalia worn by the most noble families and her family at previous heights were entitled to wear the regal fabrics, rather than wear purple though she is often found to wear sapphire attire; the reason being that as a young Thadrakos going through her trials, she cooked a duellist alive in her last ditch effort to save her own skin; covered in her own blue blood and that of her rival. Rolling with the standing ovation, she dons various blue dresses & embroidery, though she will not allow people to speculate her status and prestige, to ensure she is recognized as Thadrakos of high status she dyes her hair purple so that all can see her most noble position. Youth ''"No different than all the others really... I was pruned and fawned over like any child, except I happened to have more than one set of parents, it all got very claustrophobic and exhausting but thanks to those years I've won a place in all their hearts as that sweet, sweet girl they once had-" '' 5th born child to Zrados Elafir and Itsura Elafir of the declining House Elafir; Kali would have been the youngest of three sisters and 3rd youngest overall, at the time of birth space travel had not been invented and so was too young when it was invented to venture out into space and get herself killed like her older siblings did. Intellectually schooled by private tutors, trained by her father for combat and raised by her mother for etiquette and history; Kali spent the majority of her early walking and talking years at the prodigy daughter to the family, learning more than her older siblings ever had in tuition, fighter smarter and harder than those that came before or after, and the first one in the family to be psionically gifted. The phenomenon of psionic powers was known to the Thadrakos earlier than most but in the early years, it was also much rarer than it became later in the Commonwealth and especially for the Zracon, for a noble to be gifted the powers was almost unheard of and she quickly became the focus of all the five families. The Elafir family was gifted a small fortune for the chance to 'host' her within their own houses... for about 10 years; inside the walls of the most opulent manors she was schooled by the most prestigious and renowned of society, she spent 2 years with each family and thus learnt almost every aspect of her current society, which was when she realized something. ''"It's all just so '''boring!~'"'' Thadrakos society had been somewhat stable and unchanging for decades, even centuries, even during the unification years there had been little of note happening besides the annual festivities and games; little interest came of learning about how peaceful and tranquil everything was, because that meant nothing interesting happened. The older books spoke of great battles and technological revolutions, a different planet and great beasts once revered... The other Thadrakos even realized this, but one does not start a war just so people can write about it, it was a shame that the art of writing had been lost to most as the well of untapped information dried up... if someone were to ever create a great collection of new material, of history, then they would be among the greatest people ever known. For the time she continued to enjoy the excitement of combat and the hymns, the painting, the drawing, the dancing and all the things they do; but eventually she'd take a blow that set her off the course that would have ultimately destined her for death. The Trials At the age of 24 a series of trials lasting 2 years begins for noble Thadrakos, those who pass carry on with the family name and may seek their own path to perfection, those that fail are first left to the winners as mates if they so choose and after that they are sold as high class slaves. The Noble Trials "Beauty in all things" The candidates are put though a test of the arts: * Drawing & Painting: Two objects of great size and detail are presented, one must be painted the other drawn, so large are these objects and the such detail is expected that the Thadrakos are given 3 months to finish their work. Kali's painting was judged average, though she blamed the brushes and that others had been tampering with her paints, the drawing was however excellent in all regards and actually later sold for small fortune. In reality Kali had painted the picture by just visualizing the object and splatting the paint onto the canvass with her psionic powers and left it like that, leaving time for more drawing. * Dance: A panel of judges choose one of the 5 dances, each an hour long and extremely testing of stamina, candidates are not even expected to make it through the entire dance though those that do with any semblance of grace left are very promising candidates. Coming from a family more militaristic she had the endurance to make it through the dance but considerably tailed off compared to the others who also made it all the way. * Fabric for women / Forgery for men: Female Thadrakos had to recreate from hand 20 suits and dresses. Male Thadrakos needed to create ornate swords, spears and halberds. Kali had cared little for sewing and dress making and had only learnt what she thought was enough, the dresses were decent and judged wearable but not by anyone who wanted to impress. * Song: A simple test. Sing a song and hit as many notes correctly as possible, the Thadrakos realize that not all are natural singers nor is it the most important path of perfection; failure is common though as standards are extremely high, only the best singers pass. Tutored by 5 different families in this aspect, Kali did pass the test, she did not mention how her psionic powers could be used to make her voice resonate at any tone, pitch or frequency she wanted. * Beauty: As it sounds; the candidates are examined all over for perfections and imperfections, flawless unmarked skin, smooth hair, arm and leg length relative to height, eye space, jaw width, chin length etc etc. The process is meant to be degrading as every imperfection is highlighted and detailed in a report; all candidates pass this test as families do not submit children who they think will not and most noble Thadrakos have bred the biggest imperfections out. Kali went through the process like every other candidate; at least that is what the judge said, who was the only one in the room the entire time and not at all at risk of being psionically manipulated to perhaps forgive the most tiny of imperfections like her slightly less pointy ears or her longer legs. The Drakos Trial "The games begin" The next trial begins 1 year in. A special island large enough for 8 million souls to live on serves as a breeding ground for the Drakos, a malformed and savage species forever stuck in a medieval age that long ago the Thadrakos were related to. Using sensors in the skies and cameras across the island the Thadrakos can observe all that happens here. The candidates are delivered onto a beach with a bow, arrows and knife; then they are left for a year to fend for themselves, they are forbidden to work together and no tech is allowed. On top of this flares are fired somewhat weekly to notify the Drakos of candidates locations. No one is allowed to murder eachother, though injury is common, and death is known to happen during said phase of the trial. Throughout the year candidates must complete tasks like harvesting rare herbs and roots from toxic zones, abseiling down an always active volcano to retrieve some berries, hunting great beasts and killing as many Drakos throughout the year as possible. Death is the most likely, but not only, failure. With flying colors Kali Elafir passed; the combination of skill and psionic powers more than sufficing, the Thadrakos made sure to make her life harder as she clearly had an advantage with those powers, but it all paled to what she brought to the table. The Final Test "To the death this last duel is" The survivors are then sorted by overall score into two groups, winners and losers, the groups do not have a set ratio and so one group can be bigger or smaller than the other. The winning candidates then partake in one last duel between themselves, the candidates pick their opponent and duel with non-lethal weaponry until three solid and would-be-fatal hits are made. The winners of this duel can choose any candidates from the initial losing group as a one time mate, the highest scorers having first pick and the child being the winners. If one wishes to do so but there are no loser candidates left then it is just tough luck... unless one wishes to duel an already victorious duelist of the opposite sex; considered to be in bad taste among Thadrakos circles, but still legal and must be accepted, as this is often done to insult the house of the challenged participant. The defendant cannot refuse but can set a weight limit (not a weapon limit) to the match and pick an environment to fight in. It is also with real weaponry as the defendant is entitled to kill the challenger and the challenger generally tries not to kill the opponent, otherwise the point of the duel is lost. It was expected by Kali that some would wish to duel her, she had tasted their thoughts on the air long before the day came; to mate with one of the first psionic nobles, even of a House past its prime, would have been a grand prize. Kali had never been one dally and struck out first, challenging the greatest candidate of all to a duel, his defeat would make the others back down. The Duel Prelude ~Savoss Hrista, the challenged candidate, was a tall and slender figure; exceptionally gifted at combat and had the strength of 2 of his kin, as the defendant the choice of weight and environment were his. His choice of a light limit and forested environment took Kali aback slightly, had she been the defendant that is what she would have picked. The duel was declared though and there was no backing down.~ The duel They stand 10 feet apart; ankle deep in a glistening shallow stream overgrown with rising vegetation and moss growth, the faint rush of water and the whistle of wind prevailing over the silence. Kali balances a short-sword in one hand and spins an arrow in the other, a short distance away, Savoss rests his arms on the hilt of a sword... knuckle dusters wrap round his fingers. "Lanky legs, lanky legs, come and see reason. It's best you lay down your arms now so I don't have to break them twice this dear season~" "Afraid of a real tumble are we? from up there it must be quite a fall-" "Enough dally morsel, dance Imperial drum!" Advancing briskly and with spring to each step Savoss closes the distance briskly as Kali backpedals with sword raised. ~Springing from his right foot his sword also thrusts from the right, a simple left lean suffices and she carries the momentum to spin round Savoss's right side; Savoss turns fast and steps back, some strikes are exchanged before Kali throws her sword from right hand to left but suddenly swings the leg into Savoss's side.~ Bend the right knee, rest on the ball and twist just like practiced ~Winded he uses the free hand to push the light-footed foe back as he too moves away; rather than renew her attack she breaks for the foliage, thick and lush she disappears quickly. He makes to follow but pain ebbs from his free forearm, an arrow, shoved clean through the flesh by Kali's hand; it had missed the boned but the muscle was ripped, he snaps it and moves on.~ Waste of an arrow, she's down to five now ~Not eager to play cat and mouse though, his foe soon emerges from the vines above with arrows nocked, all three loose and all three blocked by sword and the thin slither of metal across his knuckles; just an opener, with his sword off-faced she leaps from the vine and kicks for the blade. Missed.~ ~Now with Kali momentarily airborne he brings out his bloodied arm, brings it down hard, Kali underneath it; her head smacks pleasingly on a rock, a second blow with the knuckles to the back of her head and a second satisfying smack against the rock.~ ~Dazed, confused... ~ is that the slightest niggle of fear, am I scared? "Get up, I will not let a rock steal the glory" ~Rolling round onto her back she flings pebbles from the stream across the face of Savoss and, leaping up, hooks the bow round the his sword and yanks it free; a second kick to the chest and she pounces forward unarmed.~ ~Arms interlock, heads butt, they toss and turn as they bring each other down, briefly below the water one moment and the next its the other; adrenaline fizzles out and the rawer strength of Savoss begins to win out, one final trick...~ ~Escaping her arm lock by twisting it until it snapped, her sudden freedom buys the briefest moment to push the last two arrows through his thigh, the brief snap of pain buying more to unbuckle a dagger.~ For the throat, no, the heart ~Too late though; his own dagger sheathed, his great hand crunches her throat and bones creak...~ Just twist it now and she'll snap like a stick... where's the fun in that? ~A quick flash; his dagger coats itself with blood, pushing up from under the ribcage and into her lung, again for the other lung... slowly filling her lungs with her own blood, it filled her mouth as she spat in back in his face. A Thadrokas can survive this for hours, but not what would come next.~ "In my family we gut our prey, hang them upside down as we pull their insides out, I never wanted a child from you... just your flesh. I will tell all of the taste of you, my most prized game-" ~Using her vine he bound her ankles and from them she hung... I will not die like this...~ ~Blood ran down her from her wounds, down her face and dripping from her hair, it filled the air... Not like this~ ~A small fire had been started, a knife glowed amber above it, holding a torch underneath to keep it hot as he toyed with it at a breathes distance from her face... I deserve to live, I do! and I will!~ "Fuck you, Savoss..." "Did you like my little play on words... you a morsel, and I the hunter of prey today." "Yeah... you're on fire Savoss-" "Thank you, the art of wit is so underplayed, shame that the one who does will be dead soon, say...two hours from this time of day?" "No, I mean literally Savoss…" ~Fire enveloped him as the flame of his torch grew tenfold, his blood boiled... bubbling under his skin. ~ "You forgot that your greatest prize has one final trick, when I'm done cooking you alive I will devour your crisped flesh to heal my own, I will emerge from this forest the victor, honorably or not!" ~The blood coursed through his veins, filled his lungs and liquefied his innards; finally, it burst out his mouth, coating Kali in his thick, warm blood; using psionic powers she cut the vines, collapsed onto the ground in a great tangled mess and gorged on her victim for an hour, leaving the remnants for the wildlife. When she returned with the head of her kill, there was little speculation; to bring home her point, she took a bite out of his head whilst staring at her next wannabe competitor... he didn't request to duel. ~ "Never again am I doing that, his charred hair and under-cooked brain made a disgusting combination, only thoroughly cooked and seasoned... and that is still pushing it-" '- Kali, on the topic of the consumption of Savoss with the head of another house -' Early adult life '' "Not the high mark of my life I'm afraid, after almost being eaten alive by the brute I thought I had shrugged it off, really in my attempts to forgot I lost my way for a time. Nevertheless these days still remain some of my fondest, free from all care and such-"'' Reeling from her close shave with death and the niggle of fear for the first time planted in her mind, Kali Elafir lost any sense of inhibition or responsibility and pursued the more.. unusual arts of Thadrakos tastes; rather than attend orchestras or partake in creating art, Kali fell down a road of self-indulgent irresponsible behavior (even by Thadrakos standards...) Early space exploration had been fueling new arts within the Thadrakos realm and one of them to come about was electronic music combined with powerful drug concoctions that enhanced the five sense to an extreme, it also wrecked havoc on memory, but that also a plus at the time for Kali. While she continued to dash the small fortunes she made doing the irregular performance here or act there; her household was slipping further down the slopes, outdone by the rivaling nobles and its heirs ether losing their lives in risky space races / battles or fallen to the strange new arts sweeping the nation, be it racing blind off cliffs or being a conquistador to newly tamable lands. Before her choices set her stone of fate, her father attempted one last ditch effort to bring his once most promising sibling bank from the brink; reintroduce the family tradition of battle to her, not as a combatant but as a small-time leader... it would come to be both her initial salvation and the bridge to her long time career later. The making of a Historian The documentation and participation of past battles had been the lifeblood of the Elafir family for generations, selling their military expertise to the upper families and thus reserved the right to document those battles; the loop of knowledge feeding the military expertise that won them further knowledge kept them affluent, as conflict settled even on the minor scales the family had been of little use and had suffered for it. In 2209 though, contacts with aliens were made and after brief talks it was clear that a colonization race would soon be at hand; the Thadrakos assembled small armies to garrison desired planets and hold out until the families could muster the resources to settle the planets, the surrounding xeno nations likewise mustered their own armies and a decade long skirmish known as the Inheritance war would soon erupt across the uncolonized space around the nation. The demand for leaders was once again at a high and the Elafir family would pour everything into Kali Elafir and her father to retake the stage. Over the course of the first 3 years Kali Elafir would play a role in leading the small armies to victories and stalwart defeats, culminating in a brief explosion of conflicts; during her time as a small-time leader and documenter she came to realise though that this conflict would not last long, her family would sink back down without war… so she took it upon herself to be the first grand historian since Kretin Ishaldri over 300 years ago, after resigning from the military she set to work on a new project to reshape her family. Kali Elafir the Chronicler, Collector and Keeper of the 'Alma Clavis' With the last of the family fortune and the slight coaxing of her former families she was able to procure sets of historic books tools of the craft, both for writing and drawing. Stringing all the information together and reforming Thadrakos history took time; alongside her writing she included many drawings of people & places, all immaculately drawn and 'scented' with a psionic mark to make the images that much more enthralling. 'The Age of Unification' was complete after just 5 months of work, it seems that her psionic powers were more handy in the endeavour than could be imagined, her powers could be used to practically always be writing; with the ability to simply suspend her book and writing instruments in the air she was able to go about her daily chores and works unhindered, most of her time was really spent drawing landscapes into the book and 'threading' psionic traces of the real life images into her work. The book served as a stepping stone for future work; established as a legitimate historian and artist, her future works of history were in higher demand. To keep her creations a unique speciality though, she limited the quantity of publications to just a few hundred or even to mere dozens, psionically traced books after all cannot be copied and must be done individually; because of the self created low supply and high demand, Kali needed to make her works accessible to all to see, so the beginning of what would be the Thadrakos Great Library would be constructed. Keeper of The Alma Clavis The concept of the library was that it would serve as the only place for Thadrakos to access rare publications of writing and that; as the library grew in renown and wealth, it would come to also house the finest artwork, rarest animals and most eloquent symphonies. Copying or reproducing books placed in the library would be a criminal offence and heavy censorship of extranet copies would be enacted. The library would create wealth by monetizing the visitors time spent there, small fortunes would be expended simply gaining access to its halls and exhibits. The cost of such a building could never be afforded by Kali herself, but one of the five families could afford it. after broaching the idea to all five, not wanting to be outdone by each other, they all contributed to it's construction; hardly lifting a finger herself the library was paid for and even better, so as not to make any one of the families more prestigious by constructing it on any of their own lands, the library was built on a neutral isle located between the continents. The Library could of course not be owned by any one of the families and so Kali had proposed her own solution; relocate her estate title to the isle and her family be made co-owners of the building, her family would regulate book submissions, ensure that each family got their fair share of the profits and the wealth she made herself would go into any future renovations. So while the building and estate are technically under her own ownership it is also partially under the ownership of the families, but more as distant overseers; with her new estate literally being the Great Library, wealth was now in steady supply and would grow as Kali's own work filled the shelves and rare items obtained through her efforts. The Collector Throughout her life Kali has added many of her own historical books, drawings and paintings to the shelves and displays; mentioned above is how the library is also an exhibit for rare animals, among many things Kali Elafir has acquired... * A preserved Biluan Corspe * A living Zracon (now critically endangered after the last light) * A pair of Strixes * A pack of Ayalubu * A mighty Ancalagon * Minervan Spiders * Bubonias * Monarch Eagles By 2300 it contained historical records of almost every nation in the galaxy, some dating back 4000 years for some nations and further for the older nations from pre-exodus days; containing within its halls one of a kind scrolls, tablets, hieroglyphics and paintings. The collection assembled draws visitors from across the galaxy. For greater detail on The Great Thadrakon Library. The Chronicler After the creation of several unique and one-of-a-kind books, Kali built up a small following of other writers who she employed to work on her behalf; most of her 'scribes' would stay within the Thadrakos realm and document the Thadrakon history for her, Kali herself found her own people's history a bore and so she might as well leave her employees to do it for her. With the Homefront sorted it was time to leave her estate in the hands of her two younger brother (who'd been sternly indoctrinated by her to value and care for the place). At great expense she purchased her own void-craft and employed many mercenary Thadrakos mecenes as explorers for artefacts and as her own retinue; decades would be spent picking through ancient ruins, space wrecks and other nations own libraries. While some of her procurements were acquired from abandoned wrecks or unclaimed dig sites, many would also be taken from the hands of others; that meant ether by legitimate trade, black market exchanges or just simple robbery and murder... Not hesitant to have entire villages ransacked or small merchant vessels destroyed in her searches. Her extreme methods were not used on all, respectable and cultured civilisations would not be subject to assault, after all a truly civilised nation can appreciate the value of artefacts and be trusted not to desecrate them; nations like the dyss, the yanaari and members of the galactic entente were not among this exclusive list... only the commonwealth was truly exempt, somewhat akin to a distant cousin they were the only ones with refined tastes and the intellect to match. Kali would even purchase residences on several Commonwealth planets, with ties to her own estate though she would not become a citizen; the cost of Commonwealth healthcare was paid for with her own funds, making a small fortune just by selling some smaller paintings to Commonwealth citizens. By 2310, at an age most Thadrakos would begin to call senile years, Kali had been kept alive and much healthier with Commonwealth tech. This is outlawed in Thadrakos realms but like mentioned before, she lives outside their Realms; away from prying eyes she is able to sustain herself with healthcare that does not leave any physical marks (this excludes most surgery) Present day 2315 + Currently she has taken an interest in much of the pre-exodus history of the Commonwealth species as part of a larger research project; unknown to her she was investigating artefacts and technology of the ancient Enlighted ones, now with rumours of data banks from the Curators in Commonwealth hands Kali has been practically begging to get her hands on some of the data. "This could be the discovery of the millennia and I want a part in this, what is it you say... I '''pinky promise and cross my heart and hope to die ok', I won't steal anything. Honestly..."'' Category:Thadrakos Families Category:Characters